The Bottom LineThe Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness is purely for fashionistas looking for the simplest possible phone. The transparent screen looks cool, but isn’t easy to read and won’t protect your privacy, so the Pureness is strictly for show-offs only

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The Sony Ericsson has trimmed the fat with its Xperia Pureness and
made a phone that doesn't have room for any extras, just a sleek-looking,
simple handset that’s great for a night out. You could get a lot more phone for
the money, but if you want something that stands out it's a uniquely stylish
option.

The Pureness is only available SIM-free at Selfridges in
Manchester, Birmingham and London for £650.

The naked phone The Pureness's designers claim that they started from scratch for this
phone, and you may think that they forgot something -- there's no back to the
screen, and no colour either. Instead, the screen is a 43mm (1.8-inch) see-through
glass panel where the user interface appears in frosted white like steam on a
bathroom mirror. You can't type anything too controversial because, thanks to
the transparent screen, anyone looking at the phone from the back will be able
to read your texts and the numbers you dial.

The translucent screen is an interesting novelty, but we
found that it wasn't that easy to read in nright light. It is illuminated with LEDs
around the edges, so it gets clearer as the room gets darker, making it an option for an evening out.